This Years Love
by Ariannette
Summary: House catches Chase and Cuddy dancing at the hospital Christmas party. (Set during S3 Tritter arc, but sorta AU) Sorry about the vague description, but I don't want to give it away!


**Soo **I**'m currently writing another fic, but this little plot wouldn't leave me alone, so I had to get it out. The characters are a little OOC in some parts, bu I tried to keep them in character as much as possible given the circumstances. Im 99.9% sure it's a one shot, but hey you never know. Anyway, please enjoy! Any feedback is appreciated!**

PS- inspired by the song 'This Years Love' by David Grey

* * *

**This Years Love**

It all started with a stolen dance at the hospitals' Christmas party.

As he'd done every year before, House had gotten off the elevator avoiding eye contact with anyone he passed by. Just wanting to get out with the minimal of contact with anyone in attendance.

It wasn't just that the thought of Christmas that left him rolling his eyes, but with everything that was happening with Tritter, and having had his Vicodin taken away, he was in a sour mood.

Though, as he passed the front desk, and was stopped to get a note on his way out- he made the mistake of looking up and seeing them.

There in the middle of the lobby, like many others- were Chase and Cuddy, dancing to '_Have Yourself A Merry Little Christmas'_.

It was utterly ludicrous.

Not just the dancing, but the fact that they were both _smiling_.

Chase said something then, into her ear, and she threw her head back in a girlish giggle.

House stopped in his tracks, and just looked at them. Trying to wrap his mind around how Chase would think it ok to dance with Cuddy. She was his boss- she was _Houses's_ boss. And worse yet, how could she allow such complete disregard to the fact that she was flirting in front of everyone with him?

"She looks happy", Wilson chimed in, as he stood next to him.

House rolled his eyes, "That isn't happiness, that's- idiocy", he muttered crumpling up his note and throwing it in a waste basket.

He began limping away, but not before he added, "-And Chase is fired."

Wilson frowned at this, and House heard him speed up to catch up with him, "Because he's dancing with Cuddy? Don't you think that's a bit fifth grade? What are you going to push his head into a toilet because he stole your girlfriend?"

House frowned, opening the glass door to the outside, "Girlfriend? Cuddy's a girl? Hmm didn't know that."

Wilson followed him, shivering in the snow, but too interested in the topic at hand to worry about it.

"You know what I mean, it's clear to everyone that she's- yours in a nonverbal agreement sort of way. You have dibs- and anyone else would be crazy to make the moves on her."

House scoffed, through the on comings of his first painful signs of withdrawal, "Actually- _that_ sounds kind of crazy."

"Why don't you just ask her out?"

"Why don't you just stop breathing?" He deflected, unlocking his car door, with increased annoyance.

Is that how grating Wilson's voice was when he was sober?

House contemplated their friendship.

"She'd say yes- hell, she'd say yes if you proposed to her tomorrow", Wilson ignored his thoughtless comment and kept pushing the topic.

At that, House actually laughed. And wondered if he was hallucinating at all, because what his friend suggested was insane.

"Are you high? Because if you are, then sharing is caring", he said sarcastically while batting his eyelashes, and throwing his cane on to the passenger side.

"I'll bet you a year of clinic duty that Cuddy will accept a marriage proposal if you ask her", Wilson boasted confidently.

House, who'd been about to get into his car, froze. What Wilson was proposing was just too easy. It almost felt wrong to make that sort of bet.

"Ok? But you do know you've basically just accepted to take all my clinic hours, don't you?" He asked, tightening his right hand into a fist as he felt a jolt of pain in his stomach.

Wilson smiled, smugly, "Sure. So do you accept?"

House looked down at Wilson's extended hand, "Don't you think this is a little insensitive of you? Playing with people's feelings and all?"

"Not when what I'm proposing will actually bring happiness to both my friends."

House shook his head figuring it was the lack of pills in his system that was making Wilson not make any sense, "Fine, I'll take the bet. You my friend have just signed your death sentence."

xxxoxxxo

Wilson had set down some ground rules to their bet.

One. When he went to ask her, it had to be genuine- he had to be as honest as possible, which he thought would be hard, since he didn't really mean it.

Two. He had to get a real ring, which had put him out a few grand. He'd ask Wilson to borrow the money, but Wilson had said he left his check book at home. An obvious lie.

Three. He had three tries to convince her ( that was his addendum to the bet) and after that, it was over.

The next day, House barged into her office, feeling ok- after having stolen an Oxycodone prescription from one of Wilson's deceased patients.

Taking one had given him the numbness he needed, to pop the question.

She was sitting behind her desk, reading through something on her computer, when he looked up at him- with a roll of her eyes, "What do you want?"

He heaved a sigh and fell into a chair opposite to her, "Will you go out with me tonight? I made reservations at this Mexican place."

Cuddy stared at him, with her mouth slightly open, "Uh is this a joke?"

House shook his head slowly, looking at a spot on her desk, "Nope. This is a real date. So is that a yes?"

"Are you high?"

House laughed dryly, sort of shrugging his shoulders in the process, "Aren't I always a little high?"

When he saw her frown, he exhaled, "I'm serious- will you go out to eat with me? At the same table?"

Cuddy blinked repeatedly- half smiling. obviously taken aback by his question, "Sure. Dinner- me and you."

"I believe the correct phrasing is 'you and I'. It's ok, we can correct your English grammar at dinner", he teased, standing up.

Still, she looked up at him, at a complete loss of words.

"So I'll pick you up at six? And wear that little black dress of yours- it's nice on the twins", he said with an eyebrow raised as he exited her office.

xxxoxxxo

He'd knocked on her door precisely at six, wearing a nice suit, and an ironed white dress shirt.

When she'd opened the door, she was wearing exactly the dress he had asked her to wear, making him smile.

As they drove to the restaurant, both of them were silent. And his mind mulled over the bet, and the dinner. She was going to say no, it was crazy if she said yes.

She was going to say no, and he knew that- but the idea of her rejecting him was slightly more bothersome to him.

After they arrived and were seated at their table- House had ordered their drinks, he swallowed and spoke up, looking around, "This place reminds me of that restaurant we went out to while we were at MU."

Cuddy stalled, and looked around before smiling, "We went out to sushi- not Mexican."

House frowned, "You sure? I'm pretty sure you were downing the margaritas that night."

She scoffed, about to shake her head when her eyes grew big, and she brought a hand to her mouth, "Oh my god- you're right. It was Mexican."

House feigned a hurt expression, "Did you confuse me with some other date, Lisa Cuddy?"

She laughed nodding her head, and bit her lip, "Sorry."

House frowned, and blinked with a smirk on his lips, "I'm hurt. Was I really that forgettable?"

"Oh stop it, you know you weren't." She insisted with a wave of her hand.

He rolled his eyes playfully, "Well now you're just stroking my ego."

"House, our night together wasn't just a one night stand to me. You know that."

This was news to him.

"What?"

Cuddy bit her lip nervously, exhaling while looking down at their table to avoid eye contact with him, "I might have audited your endocrinology class- to see you."

It was House's turn to sit-shocked, "You stalked me?"

"I can't believe I'm admitting this, but yes", she said with a resolute nod, "-even then I thought you were an interesting idiot. An incredibly hot one."

House swallowed, "I'm sorry I never called you."

Cuddy laughed, "Please, you don't have to lie. I know it was just a fling for you."

He shook his head, "I was going to call you, really I was. But I found out the next day that I was expelled from Hopkins- and I...well I sort of became a hermit after that."

They were both quiet for a minute, looking into each other's eyes- as if they were communicating what couldn't be said out loud. In the background, the song '_This_ _Years Love_' played- something House felt was wrong for a Latin restaurant.

After a while House couldn't take it anymore- suddenly he didn't want to ask her, but he was nothing at all, if not a man of principle.

He slowly withdrew the box from his pocket, without breaking eye contact with her, and set it on the table, opening it to reveal a princess-cut silver band ring.

Cuddy looked down at it, and then back up at him, with shallow breaths, "House?"

"Lisa Cuddy, will you marry me?"

He expected one of two things to happen. Either she'd laugh and joke about how insane he was or slap him and tell him how insane he was.

What he didn't expect, was what happened next.

Cuddy put her fingers over her lips and swallowed looking at the ring. And at that moment House could see the tears begin to well up in her eyes.

He had an instinct to speak up and stop her, but his movements were paralyzed as she smiled.

"Yes", she half laughed, half cried out, "God all this time, when a part of me thought there was something between us- I would always push it down and deny it. But I always knew, I knew you loved me."

Instantly, she stood up from her seat to grab his face and kiss him hard on the lips.

Afterwards she sat back down, and put out her hand with her ring finger, looking at him expectantly, a small smile on her lips, "Well aren't you going to do the honors?"

House snapped out of his daze and nodded once, while numbly taking the ring and placing it on her ring finger.

It was a perfect fit.

xxxoxxxo

The next day, Cuddy had taken it upon herself to show off the ring to everyone in the hospital who would let her tell them.

All the while, House had numbly sat at his desk, wondering how a stupid bet had gotten that far.

Around eleven, Wilson walked in to his office with a smug smile, "So I heard the happy news- congratulations."

House rolled his eyes, "Don't even. This is a disaster, you have to get me out of it."

"Oh no, I'm not getting involved."

"This was your idea! How was I supposed to know she'd say yes? You have to tell her Wilson." He said exasperating.

Wilson sighed, sitting down, "You know, there is another way."

"What? I marry her?"

"Yes."

House scoffed, "I can't do that."

"Why not? I mean- really tell me why you can't."

"Because! Because- she, I'm not her type." He let out lamely.

Wilson raised a brow, "You do realize that is possibly the stupidest thing you've ever said- due to the fact that she said yes to you."

House ran his hands over his face and sighed, "This is such a mess. I can't marry her- I have to tell her the truth."

"House, do you like Cuddy? Don't evade or deflect, or say that you like parts of her. Just be honest- to yourself at least. If you don't, then you're right, you should tell her the truth. But if you do- which I strongly suspect you do, then you should be happy, and don't ruin this for the both of you."

Then, without waiting for his reply, Wilson stood up and walked out of his office.

xxxoxxxo

As Wilson was leaving for the day, he stopped to check any last messages left for him, at the kiosk.

And as he did his eyes were averted up, at a couple leaning against the glass wall of the clinic, only inches apart.

House had a tiny half smile on his face, as he said something to Cuddy, who smiled happily back up at him, and let her hand play with the hem of his shirt- playfully.

They looked happy, and in love.

This made him smile. Only, someone clearing their throat behind him caught his attention, and Wilson turned back around to look at Chase.

"I believe you owe me for that dance still, mate."

Wilson took his wallet out and handed a few bills to Chase, but not before asking, "What did you whisper to her, to make her laugh?"

Chase shrugged, "Told her I was trying to get House jealous, because he had the hots for her. She didn't seem to buy it."


End file.
